{"id":122621,"date":"2021-10-08T21:48:28","date_gmt":"2021-10-08T21:48:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/?p=122621"},"modified":"2021-10-08T21:48:28","modified_gmt":"2021-10-08T21:48:28","slug":"behind-the-global-appeal-of-squid-game-is-a-countrys-economic-unease","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/economy\/behind-the-global-appeal-of-squid-game-is-a-countrys-economic-unease\/","title":{"rendered":"Behind the global appeal of Squid Game is a country\u2019s economic unease"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Squid Game,<\/em> the hit dystopian television show on Netflix, 456 people facing severe debt and financial despair play a series of deadly children\u2019s games to win a $US38 million ($52 million) cash prize in South Korea.<\/p>\n

Koo Yong-hyun, a 35-year-old office worker in Seoul, has never had to face down masked homicidal guards or competitors out to slit his throat like the characters in the show do. But Koo, who binge-watched Squid Game<\/em> in a single night, said he empathised with the characters and their struggle to survive in the country\u2019s deeply unequal society.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Hae-soo Park as banker Sang-woo, Jung-jae Lee as Gi-hun and Hoyeon Jung as Sae-byeok.<\/span>Credit:<\/span>Netflix<\/cite><\/p>\n

Koo, who got by on freelance gigs and government unemployment cheques after he lost his steady job, said it is \u201calmost impossible to live comfortably with a regular employee\u2019s salary\u201d in a city with runaway housing prices. Like many young people in South Korea and elsewhere, Koo sees a growing competition to grab a slice of a shrinking pie, just like the contestants in Squid Game<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Those similarities have helped turn the nine-episode drama into an unlikely international sensation. Squid Game<\/em> is now the top-ranked show in the United States on Netflix and is on its way to becoming one of the most-watched shows in the streaming service\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a very good chance it will be our biggest show ever,\u201d Ted Sarandos, a co-chief executive at Netflix, said during a recent business conference.<\/p>\n

Culturally, the show has sparked an online embrace of its distinct visuals, especially the black masks decorated with simple squares and triangles worn by the anonymous guards, and a global curiosity for the Korean children\u2019s games that underpin the deadly competitions. Recipes for dalgona, the sugary Korean treat at the centre of one especially tense showdown, have gone viral.<\/p>\n

Like The Hunger Games<\/em> books and movies, Squid Game<\/em> holds its audience with its violent tone, cynical plot and \u2014 spoiler alert! \u2014 a willingness to kill off fan-favourite characters. But it has also tapped a sense familiar to people in the United States, Western Europe and other places: that prosperity in nominally rich countries has become increasingly difficult to achieve as wealth disparities widen and home prices rise past affordable levels.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe stories and the problems of the characters are extremely personalised but also reflect the problems and realities of Korean society,\u201d Hwang Dong-hyuk, the show\u2019s creator, said in an email.<\/p>\n

He wrote the script in 2008 as a film, when many of these trends had become evident, but overhauled it to reflect new worries, including the impact of the coronavirus. (Minyoung Kim, head of content for the Asia-Pacific region at Netflix, said the company was in talks with Hwang about producing a second season.)<\/p>\n

Squid Game<\/em> is only the latest South Korean cultural export to win a global audience by tapping into the country\u2019s deep feelings of inequality and ebbing opportunities. Parasite<\/em>, the 2019 film that won best picture at the Oscars, paired a desperate family of grifters with the oblivious members of a rich Seoul household. Burning<\/em>, a 2018 art-house hit, built tension by pitting a young deliveryman against a well-to-do rival for a woman\u2019s attention.<\/p>\n

South Korea boomed in the post-war era, making it one of the richest countries in Asia and leading some economists to call its rise the \u201cmiracle on the Han River.\u201d But wealth disparity has worsened as the economy has matured.<\/p>\n

\u201cSouth Koreans used to have a collective community spirit,\u201d said Yun Suk-jin, a drama critic and professor of modern literature at Chungnam National University. But the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s undermined the nation\u2019s positive growth story and \u201cmade everyone fight for themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

The country now ranks No. 11 using the Gini coefficient, one measure of income inequality, among the members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the research group for the world\u2019s richest nations.<\/p>\n

As South Korean families have tried to keep up, household debt has mounted, prompting some economists to warn that the debt could hold back the economy. Home prices have surged to the point where housing affordability has become a hot-button political topic. Prices in Seoul have soared by more than 50 per cent during the tenure of the country\u2019s president, Moon Jae-in, and led to a political scandal.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

House prices have soared during the tenure of South Korea\u2019s President Moon Jae-in.<\/span>Credit:<\/span>Getty<\/cite><\/p>\n

Squid Game<\/em> lays bare the irony between the social pressure to succeed in South Korea and the difficulty of doing just that, said Shin Yeeun, who graduated from college in January 2020, just before the pandemic hit.<\/p>\n

Now 27, she said she had spent more than a year looking for steady work.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really difficult for people in their 20s to find a full-time job these days,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

South Korea has also suffered a sharp drop in births, generated partly by a sense among young people that raising children is too expensive.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn South Korea, all parents want to send their kids to the best schools,\u201d Shin said. \u201cTo do that, you have to live in the best neighborhoods.\u201d That would require saving enough money to buy a house, a goal so unrealistic \u201cthat I\u2019ve never even bothered calculating how long it will take me,\u201d Shin said.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s really difficult for people in their 20s to find a full-time job these days.\u2019<\/p>\n

Squid Game<\/em> revolves around Seong Gi-hun, a gambling addict in his 40s who does not have the means to buy his daughter a proper birthday present or pay for his ageing mother\u2019s medical expenses. One day he is offered a chance to participate in the Squid Game<\/em>, a private event run for the entertainment of wealthy individuals. To claim the $US38 million prize, contestants must pass through six rounds of traditional Korean children\u2019s games. Failure means death.<\/p>\n

The 456 contestants speak directly to many of the country\u2019s anxieties. One is a graduate from Seoul National University, the nation\u2019s top university, who is wanted for mishandling his clients\u2019 funds. Another is a North Korean defector who needs to take care of her brother and help her mother escape from the North. Another character is an immigrant labourer whose boss refuses to pay his wages.<\/p>\n

The characters have resonated with South Korean youth who do not see a chance to advance in society. Known locally as the \u201cdirt spoon\u201d generation, many are obsessed with ways to get rich quickly, like with cryptocurrencies and the lottery. South Korea has one of the largest markets for virtual currency in the world.<\/p>\n

Like the prize money in the show, cryptocurrencies give \u201cpeople the chance to change their lives in a second,\u201d said Koo, the office worker. Koo, whose previous employer went out of business during the pandemic, said the difficulty of earning money is one reason South Koreans are so obsessed with making a quick buck.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wonder how many people would participate if \u2018Squid Game\u2019 was held in real life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The New York Times<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. <\/i><\/b>Sign up to get it every weekday morning<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

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Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In Squid Game, the hit dystopian television show on Netflix, 456 people facing severe debt and financial despair play a series of deadly children\u2019s games […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":122620,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nBehind the global appeal of Squid Game is a country\u2019s economic unease - Fin2me<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/economy\/behind-the-global-appeal-of-squid-game-is-a-countrys-economic-unease\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Behind the global appeal of Squid Game is a country\u2019s economic unease - Fin2me\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In Squid Game, the hit dystopian television show on Netflix, 456 people facing severe debt and financial despair play a series of deadly children\u2019s games [...]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/economy\/behind-the-global-appeal-of-squid-game-is-a-countrys-economic-unease\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Fin2me\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-10-08T21:48:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Behind-the-global-appeal-of-Squid-Game-is-a-countrys-economic-unease.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mark\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/economy\/behind-the-global-appeal-of-squid-game-is-a-countrys-economic-unease\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/economy\/behind-the-global-appeal-of-squid-game-is-a-countrys-economic-unease\/\",\"name\":\"Behind the global appeal of Squid Game is a country\u2019s economic unease - 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